William Henry (Bill) Pfeiff, passed away on June 21, 2013 at the age of 95. He was born on March 10, 1918 in Springfield, Missouri and moved to Lincoln at the age of 2 where he resided for the rest of his life except for two years of service in World War II.
He was married for 53 years to the late Dorothy Nell Pfeiff who preceded him in death in 1994. Bill was an outstanding student and athlete at Lincoln High school, graduating in 1936, and at the University of Nebraska where he received his BS degree in 1940 and his MA degree in 1941. He was an all-state football player at Lincoln High and multiple gold medal winner in track, holding the state shot put record for 19 years. He also lettered in both football and track at the University of Nebraska and was a graduate assistant on their 1941 Rose Bowl football team. Bill was the football and track coach and a teacher at Norfolk High School for the 1941-1942 school before spending one season as freshman football coach at the University of Nebraska.
After his military service, he returned to Lincoln High in January of 1946 where he spent 10 years as a teacher and football coach with his teams winning 3 state championships during that period. He was also head track coach at Lincoln High for 6 years with his team winning one state track championship. In 1955, he was appointed Dean of Boys and Director of Activities at Lincoln High and was later selected as Vice Principal. He served for 23 years as a Lincoln High administrator before returning to the class room for two final years, ending his 34 year career at his alma mater high school in 1980. The football field adjacent to Lincoln High was renamed “Pfeiff Field” in his honor.
Bill was the recipient of numerous honors during his lengthy career in education and high school athletics including Lincoln High Athletic Hall of Fame and Distinguished Alumni awards and coach of the year awards from both the Lincoln Journal-Star and the Omaha World Herald. He also was a member of the Nebraska School Activities Association (NSAA) Board of Control where he received their Distinguished Service Award. After being Chief Counselor for Cornhusker Boys State for many years, he received the American Legion Post #3 “40 & 8” Service Award. Other honors included Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame; Nebraska Coaches “Skip” Palrang award for contributions to high school football; the Ak-Sar-Ben Service to Sports Award; and the Lincoln Public Schools Service Award for his 8 years of service on the NSAA Board of Control.
Bill is survived by his son William P. Pfeiff and daughter-in-law Ruth Pfeiff of Carrollton, Texas; son Lawrence H. (Biff) Pfeiff and daughter-in-law Cathy Pfeiff of Overland Park, Kansas; daughter Helen E. Coe and son-in-law Harry E. (Bud) Coe of Portland, Oregon; 6 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 10 am to 8 pm on Sunday, June 23, 2013 at Roper and Sons Mortuary, 4300 “O” Street, Lincoln with family members present to greet friends and relatives from 6 pm to 8 pm.
Funeral services will be held at 10:00 am on Monday, June 24, 2013 at Roper and Sons Mortuary followed by interment at Lincoln Memorial Park at 1:00 p.m. Meet at gate 2.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Bill’s memory are suggested for the Lincoln Public Schools Foundation (Lincoln High School Pfeiff Football Award), the Capital Humane Society or a school, church or charity of the donor’s choice.